One Cold Saturday
by CeilidhTheGypsy
Summary: In the early hours of Saturday morning, Lizzie Stabler and a friend disappear from a sleepover.Preview: Suddenly, the van stopped, and the people in the front got out. Lizzie and Steph grabbed one another’s hands and closed their eyes.
1. Frozen

4:00 Saturday AM – Olivia's apartment

It was warm and sunny on the beach where Olivia was laying. The sun soaking into her skin, and the Flirtini in her hand was helping her forget the pain of her everyday life. Suddenly the peace was interrupted. An annoying sound shattered the peaceful cawing of the gulls and crashing of the waves.

The phone was ringing and Olivia shook the haze of sleep away, answering her cell with a mumbled "Benson."

The voice on the other end was panicked. She could hear the fear radiating in his voice.

"Olivia, Lizzie's gone."

* * *

4:10 Saturday AM – Location unknown 

She was shivering when she awoke. The soft sound of her name being whispered woke her. She opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. Lying beside her was her best friend Lizzie Stabler. She didn't know where she was, and she knew something was terribly wrong.

"Steph, wake up? Steph? Are you okay?" Lizzie squirmed to be closer to her and took her hand. As Steph opened her mouth to speak, Lizzie shushed her. "Don't. They think you're asleep." The petite girl's lips started quivering.

"Who? Who thinks I'm asleep? Where are we?" Steph had tears running down her cheeks, she was terrified. The last thing that Steph remembered was going to sleep at her friend Laura's house in the back yard.

Suddenly, the van stopped, and the people in the front got out. Lizzie and Steph grabbed one another's hands and closed their eyes.

* * *

4:24 AM – The SVU Squadroom 

Olivia was shaking as she joined her co-workers in the squadroom, not because of the early morning chill, but out of fear. Lizzie had begged for weeks to sleep over Laura's house. Olivia had argued with Elliot of Lizzie's behalf. She felt incredibly guilty, and looked away each time Elliot tried to catch her eye. Her thoughts were disrupted when Cragen entered the room.

"What do we know?" Cragen asked with a hint of sympathy in his voice.

"Lizzie, Elizabeth Stabler – 13, and Steph, Stephanie Grant also 13. They were last seen sleeping at their friend Laura Sanders' house. Dan and Jeanne Sanders, Laura's parents went to bed at One AM. The girls – there were 8 of them, were sound asleep when the parents went to bed. The other girls Ashley Blake, Danielle Johnson, Marianne Bower, Catie Owen-Huth and Rachael Martin are okay – a bit shaken up as you can imagine, they are coming in with their parents at 6:00 to see if they can shed any light on the situation." Munch supplied.

"There were 3 tents in the back yard; CSU is there now, two three-person tents and one two person tent" Fin added hanging up a diagram of the backyard "The two person tent is here, further away from the house than the other two tents, about 15 yards away from the woods. There was obvious trampling and broken branches near the tent. That's all we have right now. We'll know more when CSU is done."

The silence in the squadroom was overbearing, crushing even. The only sound that could be heard is was the perking of the coffee maker. When the noise ceased, there was a stampede of detectives towards the welcome distraction.

Olivia felt nauseous as Elliot stepped beside her and put his hand on her arm. He turned her to face him, but she still could not meet his eye.

"Olivia, Liv, I don't blame you. I know what's going on in your head… and no, it is not your fault. I let Lizzie go, it was my decision. Kathy's gonna have my head when she and the kids get back from New Hampshire, but what can I do?" His voice was choked with emotion, and he gripped Olivia's arm, perhaps a little too tightly.

"El, we're gonna find Lizzie. I promise. I will not rest until she comes home." Olivia squeezed Elliot's hand.

"Liv, what if…" horrible thoughts were flashing through Elliot's mind.


	2. True Friends

4:32 AM – Location Unknown

The two men carried Lizzie and Steph into a building, after gagging them to prevent them from screaming. A glance between the two friends said it all – they were both terrified, yet were trying to be brave for each other. Suddenly the girls were tossed into a small bathroom, collapsing together onto the floor. The taller man leaned in close to Steph, and untied her wrists. Ordering her to stay still, he repeated the procedure on Lizzie.

"Stay put, and don't even try to escape. You need your rest for later, so try to get some sleep" The man gestured to a mattress that had been propped against the wall "Oh, my darlings, don't look so glum! You'll enjoy your stay here."

The man turned on his heel and left the room, locking the door. Steph immediately burst into tears. Lizzie wrapped her arms around her friend, being the protector. Even though Steph was born only three days after Lizzie, Lizzie always was the 'older sister' in their friendship. Lizzie got to her feet, pulling Steph up with her. The girls pulled the mattress to the floor, and curled up together, with arms slung over each other's waists. Steph was the first to speak, breaking the silence.

"Y'know, in case we don't… get out of here… I think it's silly that you still go by Lizzie. It's so… kidlike. I'm sorry." Steph looked away, fearful of her friend's reaction.

"Really? I do too. It's just that everyone always calls me Lizzie. Like they forget I'm not a kid. From now on – I'm Liz - just Liz. What do you think?" Liz propped herself up on an elbow to look at her friend.

"That's awesome. It's grown up. Wait till we get back to school and tell… Oh." Steph's chin quivered, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey… its okay, we'll get out of here. You know my dad's a cop, right? He's probably out looking for us now. They'll find us soon. We'll be okay" Liz said, attempting to reassure her friend and herself "so… how did you do on that math test? Mrs. Sheppard is awful!"

The topic change was welcome and the girls chatted for a while before dozing off curled up together on the ratty mattress. The girls rested peacefully, having fallen asleep only two hours before they were kidnapped, they were exhausted. The peace was disrupted when the door opened abruptly, and a gruff voice woke the girls up.

"Get up! You wanna eat? Then c'mere! Get up!" The short man was yelling at them, and out of fear the girls got to their feet and followed him. Liz led the way, holding tightly to Steph's hand. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, they realized it was a mistake. The two girls were wrenched apart, and Steph, despite her kicking and flailing was tied to a chair so tightly that it hurt to move even a little.

Steph looked on in horror, as the men tied Liz's hands to the bedposts. Steph closed her eyes, but couldn't block out the sounds of Liz's cries. Tears ran down Steph's cheeks, she felt her soul being crushed with every yelp, sob and whimper from across the room. The yelping turned into soft sobs, and Steph's heart raced. A pair of hands dragged her off of the chair, terror splintering any coherent thought.

When she landed on the floor, partially on top of Liz and heard the door slam, Steph was relieved. They were back in the bathroom again. Sensing Liz's pain, Steph wrapped her arms around her partially undressed friend who was now shivering. No matter how she tried, Liz could not get warm – her legs were freezing, completely bare. Abruptly, Steph stood up, and started to pull off her sweatpants. Liz opened her mouth to protest, but quickly shut it upon seeing that Steph was wearing a second pair of pants beneath them. As gingerly as she could, Steph helped Liz clean up a little, and dress herself. No words were spoken, but the girls huddled together, afraid of what was going to happen now. Liz let out a choked sob, attempting to muffle it so as not to frighten Steph more. It was only a matter of time before they came back again. Horrific thoughts raced through Liz's mind as she attempted to sleep. She had no doubt in her mind that they'd be back.

But in that moment, all she wanted was to be clean. Getting up as quietly as she could, she turned the water on and undressed quickly. Liz finished tearing off a piece of her shirt sleeve that had been mostly ripped off. With the small scrap of fabric and the small sliver of soap she found, she scrubbed her body until it was red raw, letting the agony and sadness bleed out of her.

4:32 AM – SVU Squadroom

Olivia paced nervously, in a figure eight around the room, attempting not to let the horrific thoughts penetrate her brain. She fought to ignore the side of her telling her that Lizzie may be in trouble, and concentrate on the fact that she would be fine. A nagging, nauseous feeling in her stomach told her she was wrong. Olivia wanted to do nothing more than run out and start looking for the sweet little girl. The CSU team was still working at the scene, and hadn't called to report anything yet. Olivia continued pacing until she bumped into Elliot – literally. She looked up tentatively to meet the blue eyes seeking hers out. As he opened his mouth to speak, Cragen came out of his office.

"I have news!"


End file.
